Itemsthat slowyourWi-Fisignal
DiscussitemsthatslowyourWi-Fisignalatforum.webuser.co.uk 4-17April 2018^51
up your signal, especiallyifthe metal
object is super-shiny.
Thetrick to avoidingthiskindof
problemistomakesureyourrouteris
positioned somewherecentral and away
from anything in your homethat could
degrade thesignal. So putyourrouter
on topofadesk, rather than underit,
forexample –and definitely notin
acupboard. Thefewer objectsaround
therouter, thebetter. It should also
go withoutsayingthatifyou mostly
connect to theinternetonthe ground
floor, then that’s thefloor your router
should be on.Finally,ifyourrouterhas
directionalaerials (not alldo),point
them away from anyproblematicitems.
Killer rating
Cordless phones
As we explained in ourcoverfeature
in Issue444,landlinesare becoming
somethingofararitythese days,
as most people have at least onemobile
phonethattheycan use
to communicate with
(and whowants
to have multiple
phonenumbersto
remember?).Ifyou
do still have
alandline, and
your cordless
handset operates
in the2.4GHz
or 5GHz
range, then
this,as
youmight
expect, cancause
interference when you’re makingacall.
Thesolution to this problem–aside
from switchingexclusivelytoamobile
phone–istomakesureyou position
yourselfawayfromyourrouterwhen
youmakeacall.
Killer rating
Christmas tree lights
Despite theirfestive glow, thosesparkly
fairylightsonyourChristmas treecan
–accordingtoOfcom(bit.ly/tree446)
–reduceWi-Fi performanceby25%.
Even more, if thelightsare blinking.
Turn thelightsoff when youneedbetter
Wi-Fi, or connect to theinternet(or
stream video)awayfromthe tree. On
theplus side,you’vegot another eight
monthsbeforethisisgoingtobea
problem!
Killer ratingYour neighbours
If your neighbour’sWi-Fi
signaloverlapsyours,it
couldhave asignificant
impact on your connection
speed,especiallyiftheir
Wi-Fiisstronger–for
example,iftheyhave an
802.11acrouterthatbacks
onto asharedwall. To
overcomethisproblem,
youcan trychanging the
channelinyourrouter
to onethat’sdifferent from theirs.
You’ll need to logintothe router
settings to do this.You canuse
guesswork to figure outthe best
channel, butasmarter option is to use
AcrylicWi-Fi Home (bit.ly/acry443),
whichwon ourGoldAward in Issue443.Back in 2007,
aBBC1Panorama
investigation
found that RF
(radio frequency)
radiation levels
in some Wi-Fi-
enabledschools
were up to three
timeshigher
than thelevels
emittedbya
typical mobile-
phonemast. This raisedalot
of concerns at thetime, andwas
especially worrying forparents.
Someteachers evenwentsofar
as to suggest that Wi-Fishould
be bannedinschools until its
possible dangershad beenfully
investigated.
Forsomepeople,thesefears still
exist, andPublic Health England
(PHE)recentlyconfirmed that
“peopleusingWi-Fi,orthose in the
proximityofWi-Fi equipment,
areexposedtothe radiosignals it
emitsand some of thetransmitted
energy in thesignals is absorbed
in their bodies.”
So should youbeworried about
Wi-Fiputting your healthatrisk?
In short –no. PHEsaysthatthereis
no consistent evidencetodatethat
exposure to Wi-Fisignals adversely
affectspeople’shealth.Also, the
signals areverylow powerand the
frequenciesusedbyWi-Fi are
broadlythe same as those from
other RF devicessuchasradios,
TVsand mobilephones.IS YOURWI-FI
KILLINGYOU?eople have at least onemobile
tth
nica
wan
ultip
mber
?).
e
and
less
per
4GHzenp
heycan use
icatewith
nts
iple
bers to
If youand
s
rates
zLaunch this excellentfreetooland it will
show youall theSSIDs(networks)in
rangeand thechannelthattheyare
using. Handily, youcan sort thelistby
channeltofindthe least congested one,
then switch to it.
Killer ratingBack in 2007,
BBC1Panorama
vestigation
und that RF
adio frequency)
diation levels
some Wi-Fi-
enabledschools
were up to three
meshigher
anthe levels
emittedbya
pical mobile-
phone mast.ThisraisedalotKILLINGYOU?
may)